KINGDOM HEARTS I: Knoa's Story
by Pleasereadmything
Summary: A boy who seems too strong to be true. "Seems, 'With great power comes great insanity' finally has meaning now." -Knoa (Status: Male OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts character and plot and I do not own the cover.**

* * *

 _Thoughts_

 **Mysterious Voices**

 **"Quotes from a mysterious source."**

 ** _Important text_**

* * *

 **KING**

 **So little to do, so much time...**

The golden orange eyes of a raven haired boy opened. The little boy stared into the empty abyss, searching for the source of the voice.

He opens his mouth to speak, only to find that no sounds could've been uttered.

 **Hurry. But don't be afraid.**

The boy looked forward, he stood on a beautiful stain glass platform. But the imagery could hardly be called beautiful. It was littered with the bodies of ant-like creatures with yellow eyes. The boy felt afraid, even though the voice reassured him not to be.

 **The door is still shut.**

 **Step forward. Can you do it?**

Not wanting to disappoint the mysterious individual, he took a few steps forward. The light that shined in the center burned brightly. The boy rubbed his hands over his exposed arms, they burned in the light.

Suddenly, obsidian stone platforms appeared from underneath the glass. Faintly, the boy could hear the sounds of...chirping?

 **Power sleeps within you.**

The boy numbly watched in fascination as items began to appear on the platforms.

The first was a breastplate armor made of thorns.

 **If you give it form...**

The second was a dark colored wizard's hat.

 **It will give you strength.**

The third and final one seemed to be a strange weapon. It was a Greatsword, but it was completely black. From the hilt design to the sword. The only color that appeared were pairs of yellow dots. But they seemed to fade in and out of random spots.

 **Choose well.**

Was all the voice said before it faded from the area.

The boy shivered at the uncomfortable silence that surrounded him.

Hesitantly, he went for the hat. It was the least creepiest out of the rest. Stepping onto the obsidian stone platform (By pulling himself up thanks to his short height), he grabbed the floating hat from under the shining light. He hissed in pain as the light burned his withdrawing the hat, he looked down at his arms, instead of seeing burn marks like he thought he would he instead saw black mist acting like smoke coming from his pale arms.

The hat felt rough and itchy, a normal person wouldn't have dared spared a second glance if this hat was on the street.

 **The power of the mystic.**

 **Drives it's wielder's mad with it's power.**

 **A hat of murder and ruin.**

 **Is this the power you seek?**

The boy didn't like the whole entire 'driven to madness' idea, so he propped the hat back into the light. Thinking that the armor would be better, he went there.

He carefully grabbed it, careful to not cut himself from one of the thorns on the branches.

 **The power of the guardian.**

 **Repels friends and foes with it's pernicious touch.**

 **A armor to repel all.**

 **Is this the power you seek?**

He didn't want to repel his frie-well, he didn't have any friends yet. But he didn't want to repel any future friends away. He let the armor float in the light and instead walked up to the sword.

When he first touched it, something bit him.

He cradled his wounded hand to his chest, looking down at it he could see little jigsaw bite marks. From his hand to his arm, his blood began to boil and burn.

Hissing, he fought through the pain and held the sword with his wounded hand. It was cold at the touch.

 **The power of the warrior.**

 **Reaps the souls of it's foes with it's incredible strength.**

 **A sword of great destruction.**

 **Is this the power you seek?**

Downhearted, he dropped the sword. He jumped back down onto the glass platform.

 **Choose.**

The voice ordered him.

He shook his head as he rubbed the throbbing wound on his hand.

 _I don't want to._

 **Choose.**

 _I don't want to._

 **Choose.**

Frustration built inside the little boy.

 _I don't want to!_

But the voice was adamant.

 **Choose.**

Tears prickled his eyes as he held his head in between his hands and shouted.

 _I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!_

Silence.

That was all the boy heard. The boy was scared, did the voice abandon him in the dark?

 _I want to wield this power._ He admitted to himself _, I want to be able to protect myself and only me. I want to be strong. But I'm also scared. This power is...scary._

The three items on the podium began to shake, fearfully he watched the items shake.

 ** _They_ chose you.**

He watched with wide eyes as the items flew from their spots and latched themselves onto him. The thorn armor dug past his thin shirt and onto his chest and back. He bit back a scream as the thorns tore through skin.

The hate on his head was unbearable, it filled his head with voices, so many voices. He wanted to rip it off but he felt something inside the hat bypass his skull and latch onto his brain.

The sword in his hands was cold. Unbelievable cold. When the boy held up one of the hands that held the sword, he gasped at all the bite marks on it.

 ** _They_ chose you.**

The glass platform began to crack, as it cracked, little tendrils of darkness seeped from underneath.

The obsidian stone's sunk into the dark surface.

More cracks appeared until finally, it broke.

He began to fall face forward through the inky darkness.

 ** _They_ chose you.** The voice repeated those lines over and over as the boy fell.

 **KING**

The boy groaned as he awoke (Though it was futile with his voice silenced). He got up, he was still in the dark abyss.

Strangely, the sword, armor and hat were missing, which relieved the boy of the pain of wearing them.

But then in a swirl of darkness the harsh equipment appeared back onto his skin.

The little boy bit back a scream as the hat prodded his brain, the armor dug into his skin, and the sword scratched his hands.

 **You've gained the power to fight.**

The voice said, disregarding the boy's obvious signs of agony.

 **Attack.**

It ordered.

However, the boy was busy trying to not scream as the wounds grew bigger and bigger.

 **Attack.**

It said again.

Not wanting to anger the voice, he clumsily swung the heavy sword. Hissing as every movements created more strange cuts that resembled claw marks.

 **Adequate. Use this power to protect yourself against others.**

The boy guessed it was going to be hard to get a compliment out of the voice. Spotting something underneath the floor, the boy leaned forward to get a closer look. It was then he noticed the design of the floor. It was a gentle lavender-dark purple, glowing hearts seemed to be floating in and out of the artwork.

 **There will be times you will have to fight.**

The being began to rise from the flooring, making the boy step back with fear.

 **Do not disappoint _them._**

Humanoid creatures without faces seemed to (somehow) stare at him. The boy's eyes widened when they ran at him.

Were they human?

The boy swung his sword to prevent the being from coming closer. It seemed to affect the being as it crumpled from the strike. Wanting this horrible dream to end, he swung his heavy sword a few more times. Until finally the being disappeared in light, all that was left was a glowing floating heart. Mesmerized by the light in the darkness, he reached forward to touch it.

Only to have a black ant-like creature reach out from the ground, snatch it, then disappear back into the surface like nothing happened.

Scared, the boy stumbled backward. Not noticing the humanoid creatures disappearing and reappearing behind him.

 **Behind you!**

The voice warned. Whipping back he immediately swung his sword. Twice he lost his grip and he was hit five times but he still managed to win.

Before he could take a break to catch his breath, the same black ant from before seemed to darken the heart stained glass. The patches of darkness connected with each other. Feeling the solid ground give away underneath him, the boy struggle to move in the inky black substance. As if sinking through quick sand, the mysterious cold substance seemed to swallow him away into who knows where.

 **KING**

Shakily, the boy's eyelids opened. He silently groaned as he lifted himself off the glass surface. The painful weapons were off, that was good. And thankfully the boy's wounds seemed to slowly regenerate as well.

Standing up, he looked underneath him.

The glass platform had a picture of a strange castle. A chill went down the boy's spine at the sight of it.

It looked scary, yet it left a warm and familiar feeling in his heart.

Strange right?

Looking forward, a light that shined from out of the abyss seemed to be fixated on a door that seemed to appear as a mirage.

With curiosity beckoning him, the boy slowly and calmly walked toward the door. Taking his time so that he could rest before having to perform even more physical exercise (he was only four!)

Remembering his encounter with light, he avoided the flash as he tried to reach for the door knob. Only to find his hand going right through it.

Hearing a sound behind him, the boy caught sight of a chest sitting behind. Waving aside his questions, he went to open it.

Before his hand could even move, the pernicious sword made it's appearance again. In his surprise, he swung his sword arm. It clanged against the chest, the chest opened and revealed a little glass bottle with green liquid. In a swirl of dark mist, the potion and chest disappeared. Feeling a pulling sensation in his gut, he held out his free hand. Appearing in an instant was the same potion.

Awesome.

Willing it to go back where it came, it vanished.

Double Awesome.

Behind him, a crate appeared. It had a yellow print of strange stars with squiggles.

Ignoring the biting sword, he dragged it along side it as he walked up to the crate.

 _Do I...?_

Not knowing what else to do, he gave it a small push. The crate was either lighter than he thought, or he was stronger than he believed to be, either way the crate moved a great distance. Not having anything else to do with it, he swung his sword at the crate.

With that one swing, it broke into pieces.

Staring wide eyed at the sword, he gaped. It was way stronger than he thought it was. Seeing a small package on the ground he touched it. The same pulling feeling in his gut occurred, letting him know the potion had gone to who-knows-where.

After picking up the potion, he noticed the door frame solidifying. But the doors itself were still intangible.

A wooden barrel appeared to his lower right. He first tried to push it, that didn't work. So he resorted to destroying the poor innocent barrel.

The whole entirety door finally solidified.

Eager to get this nightmare over with, he ran over. Before he could touch it, the door opened by itself. He shouldn't have been eager. As soon as he opened it, dark mist poured out. Instead of running like he wanted to, his body instead walked toward it. Drawn by the cold darkness.

 **KING**

He was scared. He was on an unfamiliar island. Three kids around his age were calmly sitting/standing. They stared at him with their blank eyes.

 **Hold on, the door won't open just yet.**

 **First, tell me about yourself.**

The boy looked up at the sun that stood above him, it gave no sense of warmth that he expected. It felt...fake.

Deciding on talking with the people near him, he first walked up to the boy with spiky blonde hair.

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked. He gave three choices.

Getting old.

Being different.

Being indecisive.

He wasn't afraid of getting old, he wasn't afraid of being different from others...maybe the third choice. Still unable to speak he held up three fingers signaling the third choice.

"Being indecisive? Is that really so scary?" He said in a tone the little boy didn't like. The boy refused to talk to him anymore, so he decided to walk up to the girl.

"What's most important to you?" She asked. Again she gave three choices.

Being number one.

Friendship.

My prize possessions.

Friendship was nice. But the voices in the back of his head swayed his judgement. Prized possession? What prized possessions? He didn't own anything. Deciding on the only choice left, he held up one finger.

"Is being number one such a big deal?" She questioned. Instead of bothering to answer her question, the boy walked over to the tallest male.

"What do you want out of life?" He asked as he held a strange bumpy ball underneath his arm. Like the other two, he gave three choices.

To see rare sights.

To broaden my horizons.

To be strong.

He didn't necessarily care about rare sights, broadening his horizons sounded good but...being strong. Strong enough to protect himself and fend off others. That seemed important. The voices in the back of his head seemed to agree with his choice as he held up three fingers.

"To be strong, huh?"

As the three 'children' began to daze off into their supposedly 'normal' activities, the voice summarized,

You're afraid of being indecisive.

You want to be number one.

You want to be strong.

The boy nodded.

 **You're adventure begins in the dead of the night.**

Was it just him or could he hear the voices acting pleased with this?

 **You're road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits you at your journey's end.**

That didn't seem so bad. Feeling happy about the results, he nodded again.

 **The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.**

In a flash, he suddenly appeared standing on another glass platform. The glass art wasn't pretty.

It held a picture of seven people, all of them were female. Thorns surrounded them as they appeared to be deep in sleep. The youngest who was around the boy's age wore a simple white dress and had auburn hair.

Seeing the light shine on a spot in the middle of the floor. The boy walked forward. He regretted it as soon as he did. The same humanoid creatures from before appeared, the painful armor and weapon from before appeared. But for some reason he didn't feel as much pain as he did last time.

He only hoped he wouldn't turn into a masochist when this was over.

 **KING**

After the fight,he grew more comfortable with he feeling and weight of the weapons he possessed.

His powerful sword cut through the creatures body with ease.

His armor injured those that tried to touch him.

His hat filled his body with a new found energy.

It was incredible.

Soon, after defeating the creatures. a pool of what seemed to be black water appeared. Stepping onto it, he felt his injuries heal in an instant.

The shadow of the pool moved forward until finally stopping, stairs of stained glass appeared, leading upwards toward the next platform.

He faced no trouble with running up the stairs.

Now he stood on a platform with a picture of a moon that was shaped as a heart. Interesting.

Walking forward toward the light (And ignoring the burning feeling on his skin) he didn't notice his shadow growing.

The closer you get to the light. The greater your shadow becomes.

 _My shadow..._

Looking back, he stared in shock as his shadow came to life before his eyes. Cautiously, he stepped back. Not taking his eyes off the giant creature.

 **But don't be afraid.**

 **And don't forget...**

The black creature's yellow eyes stared back into his. Turning around, he ran, only to see his path blocked by white creature with a size rivaling the other's. The two stared down at him.

The white one stepped off the platform, it seemed to step on the air as it waited a few feet away. Watching the match begin.

Not having anywhere else to go, the boy let the harsh armor and weapon appear. He prepared for his match.

 **KING**

The head, the arms, those were the giant creature's weak spots. Collapsing onto the ground with fatigue, he watched as the dark creature swayed dangerously on it's feet.

During battle he resorted to using one of his potions. He could've used the second one to speed up his healing process, but he decided against it. He might need it when he faced off against the white being standing to the side.

With the Darkside close to dying, it held it's arms out and let energy manifest on his chest.

The boy was too tired. He couldn't move. He didn't even have the strength to try and get up. It was the end for him.

When suddenly, a cold feeling rushed through his body. On it's own, his arms held up his sword, aimed at the creatures head.

Then, a burning blue flame shot out like a bullet and slammed itself against the creature's head.

The boy's were wide as the scene played out before him.

 _How?_

Suddenly, his equipment disappeared. Leaving him in his plain colored clothes. The dark creature fell forward.

His regenerative process manage to give him strength as he ran. He stumbled when he first got up, but after shaking off most of his fatigue, he took of running. Not wanting to get squashed by the giant creature. As the Darkside fell, from the corner of the boy's eyes he could see a faint sign of acceptance?

Before the Darkside's massive body fell to crush the running boy, it disappeared in a flash. A glowing heart was left in it's place. The boy watched with awe as the heart disappeared upward into the darkness.

Wow.

But the moment of admiration soon ended when the white creature stepped onto the platform. It's movements were strange, it wiggled and twirled as if it didn't have bones.

However, before he could make a move, he felt himself sinking. Looking down, he saw himself sinking into a pool of darkness. Scared, he struggled. Reaching his hands out to grasp something. Anything. He even held a hand out to the white being standing in front of him. But it was futile as the creature made no move to help. It simply stood there and stared at the struggling boy.

In the boy's last moments before being completely sucked by the darkness. He could hear the voice speaking again.

 **-But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget: You are the one, who will open the door and lead _them_ to their salvation.**

 **KING**

 _Where am I?_

The boy thought as he walked down a dirt road. White dead trees stood to the side. He was tired. Though he (thankfully) didn't encounter any more monsters. If he did, he would be dead. Ever since the strange dream ended, he couldn't summon the weapons from before. That left him feeling weak...helpless...

He hated that feeling.

The boy stepped onto the small overhanging ledge . His eyes were wide as he inhaled a sharp breath at the sight before him.

 _What's that?_

Before him stood a giant formidable castle. Ominous purple clouds hanged overhead as darkness swirled from inside and out the castle.

Suddenly, his head exploded with voices.

 **"The darkness can't have you!"**

 **"Ven, I'm sorry...I might not make it back as soon as I thought."**

 **"Why are you sitting here all alone in the realm of darkness?"**

 **"Somewhere in the scraps of memory I have left, you remind me of a boy I once knew who is very much like you-true to his friends, and kind. This boy travels to many worlds and fights to keep the light safe."**

 **"His name...is..."**

 **"Take care of her."**

 **"I've been to see him, he looks a lot like you."**

 **"I meant your name."**

 **"Do you remember your true name?"**

 **"My name is..."**

With his voice recovered, the boy screamed as he slammed his hands over his ears, trying to block out of the voices. Soon, he fell unconscious. Letting the cold darkness take him.

 **KING**

"You alright?" A kid's voice ask. Too tired to respond, the unconscious boy said nothing. Instead he took his time listening to sounds of waves hitting the beach.

"Riku, I think he's dead!"

"No he's not! Look Sora, his chest is moving!"

"So?"

A sigh was heard, "If his chest is moving then that means he's breathing!"

Deciding he had enough, the boy opened his eyes. Standing over him were two kids that looked his age.

One had silver hair, the other had brown spiky hair.

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked the one with brown hair. Recognizing the voice from before, he made the conclusion that this was Sora.

 **"My friends are my power!"**

"Hey!" Sora waved a hand in front of his eyes, breaking the boy out of his daze, "You alright, you looked a bit off for a moment."

"Where...am I?"

Confused, Sora answered, "Destiny Islands. Weren't you born here?"

"Maybe he's from the outside world!" Riku said excitedly, "Where's you come from?"

"I..." The boy started, his mind drifted off to the dark abyss and the giant castle, "...don't remember."

Disheartened, Riku said, "Oh."

"What's your name!" Sora asked in an eager tone.

"My name..." The boy said out loud, "My name is...Kno." (A/N:Sounds just like No.)

"Kno?" Sora said out loud, "That sounds weird, Knoa is better!"

"Sora!" Riku chided.

Knoa smiled, "Knoa...I like it." (A/N: Sounds just like Noah.)


	2. Chapter 2

Although the children of Destiny Islands quickly got used to Knoa's presence, they never made to make physical contact with him.

They learned from Sora's misfortune.

Riku, Sora, and Knoa went to go swim near the island. Wearing only swimming trucks (Which Riku's parents were happy to lend) Knoa decided to take a break by standing on the sand, casually staring out at the ocean with a strange curious expression. Sora decided to try and surprise Know by tackling him back into the water.

It didn't end well.

At first, nothing happened (Except for Sora's glee and Knoa's surprise), but soon Sora found himself screaming and writhing in pain as he bled onto the pure yellow sand. Marks resembling zig-zag styled bites and thorn cuts appeared. Thankfully, Sora's father was close by to quickly get the boy to the hospital. Leaving an unconscious Sora, a guilty Knoa, and a confused Riku.

After the whole entire incident, Sora's parents forbid and even shunned Knoa. No matter how many times Sora and Riku tried to explain that Knoa didn't instigate an 'attack' of any kind. Though the rumors of a 'Devil Child' began to emerge, thankfully only the adults believed it. The children of the island were on Knoa's side. Though the parents ushered their children to the side at the sight of Knoa on the mainland, on the island Knoa was still able to play with the others as long as they were away from the parent's watchful eyes.

After the incident, Knoa began wearing long sleeved dark clothing (Blame the theme of darkness on the dream was all he thought when others questioned his fashion style). He even went as far as to wearing gloves and a scarf. Sometimes, he would wear a hood. Riku and Sora would joke at how he looked. Saying that it was too creepy for a four year old to wear, to this, Knoa would just sigh.

 **KING**

"Let's play hide and seek!" Sora said out of the blue.

"Why?" Riku asked as the group of three were casually walking on the beach in broad daylight.

"Just 'cause." Was Sora's answer.

Knoa sighed, used to Sora's antics, "Alright, I'll seek. You two hide." Sora and Riku nodded. Knoa turned around and began counting out loud, "1. 2. 3..."

Knoa could hear the sound of sand being kicked up as the two ran in different directions.

"19. 20. Ready or not here I come." Knoa said. He turned. Seeing the trail of steps leading toward the Cove. Knoa headed in that direction.

Only to suddenly stop when he caught the sight of two people with their backs turned to him.

One wore a strange dark themed armor skin with a black helmet and stood on the bridge, while facing the blonde who's only armor was a shoulder guard.

The voices began to erupt from out of nowhere.

 **"If I must... I will extract the darkness within you myself."**

 **"Empty creature from Ventus riven...to you, the name Vanitas shall be given."**

 **The separate whispering voices clouded his brain.**

 **...X~blade...**

 **...Kingdom Hearts...**

 **...Light...**

 **...Darkness...**

 **...Equal opposition...**

 **...X-blade...**

Letting the voices die down, he slowly released the hands that clutched his aching head.

"Fine. Then I'll give you a reason to fight." The one holding a strangely shaped sword with an eye said.

The one who was previously clutching his head(Similiar to Knoa) turned to stare up at the boy, "What?"

"Come and find me...at the one and only place to spawn the X-blade, the Keyblade Graveyard."

Knoa clutched his head again as the voices resurfaced.

 **"Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?"**

 **"So, you know the laws of Master's, they're the ones that started the Keyblade War."**

 **"And now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me!"**

 **"You're gonna get shown the door, old man."**

The shout of "Wait!" was what broke Knoa out of his painful daze. Looking up, he saw swirls of darkness surrounding the armored boy. When it cleared, the boy was gone.

Did he just...

Looking back down at the boy to see if he was just as surprised as he was, he was shocked to only see the boy angry. As if he had already known the other one could do that.

Swiping an arm over his shoulder guard, a bright light appeared, causing Knoa to hiss as the rays burned the only exposed skin, his face. Feeling the burning heat disappear, he pulled down his hands and nearly fell backwards when a sudden change of clothing was seen on the boy.

What's more, a sword that had another strange design appeared in the armored boys hands. Throwing the sword up into the air, Knoa could only gap when he saw it turn into a makeshift hoverboard. Mounting it, a the boy sped off into the sky. A portal appeared, swallowing the boy from existence.

Saying Knoa was surprised was an understatement. Sure he faced the dark creature in his dreams, faced the misery of having to wear armor and a sword that self inflicted damage on him, faced the fact that the effects of the thorn armor from his dreams actually did hurt his friends.

But this...this was next level.

 **KING**

"I wonder where Knoa went." Sora said to Riku as the two walked along the beach. The two actually did hide together but when the sun began to set and Knoa still didn't find them, the two began to worry.

"Maybe he went back to the mainland." Riku suggested.

"No way! His boat is still here." Sora said. It was true, though Riku and Sora rode on Sora's Dad's boat, Knoa had his own (Seeing that the adults were less than happy to let the supposed 'Devil Child' ride in the same boat as them).

Riku shrugged, "Don't worry, if anyone can make it on their own, it's Knoa."

Sora reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, I guess." Then a smile crept onto the boy's face, "Race you to the tree!" Sora took off running.

"Hey!" Riku shouted as he too began to run.

 **KING**

"Ahoy! We're over here!" Sora waved to his father who was on the boat back to the mainland. "Riku, race ya! First one to the boat gets to be captain!" Sora took off running.

With Riku slowly walking behind.

Looking back, Sora shouted, "Come on, you call that running!"

Riku didn't respond to the jest as he continued to calmly walk back to the boat.

However, Riku stopped on the beach when he noticed an unfamiliar man standing near the ocean side.

"Hey." He said to the man(Sora was long out of hearing range), "Did you come from the outside world?"

Surprised the man asked, "Huh? Why would you say that?"

"Because, nobody lives out here," _Except Knoa mostly because no one wants to be near him on the mainland._ "and I know you're not from the mainland." Riku deduced.

"Smart kid." He complimented. "So how 'bout you? What are you doing here?"

Looking in Sora's direction, Riku said, "Oh, one of my friend's dad took us out on the boat. This is where we like to play. But they won't let us row out here by ourselves,not till we get older." _Knoa's lucky he can._ Riku ended jealously

"Must be hard, huh, stuck in one place."

"I heard once," Riku walked toward the waves, looking out onto the horizon, "There was a kid who left for good." Riku didn't notice the strange stare the man set in his direction.

 **KING**

Knoa watched from the tree house up above, the scene where the man watched Riku. The man wore clothes that held a similar style to the boy that was here before.

Could he be, just like that other guy?

His thoughts were confirmed when the man suddenly summoned a large key-like sword.

 **...Keyblade...**

 **...Keyblade...**

 **"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what."**

 **"The Keyblade chooses it's master."**

 **"But it all ends here, there can't be two Keyblade masters. Let the Keyblade choose...it's true master!"**

 **"But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts."**

 **"Xion, I didn't know you could use the Keyblade."**

 **"Why! Why do you have the Keyblade!"**

 **...Keyblade...**

 **...Keyblade...**

Knoa groaned as the long headache and voices soon vanished.

Knoa looked down, watching the man speak to Riku as they both held onto the weapon called 'Keyblade' (Seeing that the voices in his head insisted on the subject of the Keyblade). Knoa sighed as he looked down at his gloved hand.

"Keyblade..."He murmured. Running a hand through his hair he groaned, "What a mess."

 **KING**

The next day at sunset, Riku and Sora came back to the island. There, they found Knoa sitting on the Paopu Tree.

"Knoa!" Sora shouted. Knoa didn't seem to acknowledge the greeting since he didn't turn around. The two didn't notice the woman that stood behind Knoa.

"Race ya, Sora!" Riku took off running across the beach.

"Hey!" Sora whined as he too began to run.

Riku laughed, "Pay back for yesterday! Too slow, Sora. See ya at the finish line!"

Once the two passed the finish mark, Sora was bent over, panting like a dog. Riku stood over Sora, through he too was sweating and panting, he wasn't the one bending over.

"One more time!" Sora shouted, "You just got lucky!"

Finally noticing the woman walking across the wooden bridge, the two looked up at her. She smiled kindly at the two. Sora yelped in surprise when she jumped down. Embarrassed, Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

 _This boy looks so sincere._ The woman thought. _Just like Terra._ She turned toward Sora, _And this one, he's the splitting image of Ven._

"One of you," She murmured, "Might be special enough. Hey, do you two mind telling me your names?"

"I'm Sora!" Sora raised a hand in his excitement.

The woman smiled at the burst of energy, she turned to Riku, "And you?"

Riku said plainly, "Riku."

 _Someone has already passed this boy the power._ Aqua thought. _Was it Terra?_

Making a resolve, Aqua asked Sora, "Sora, do you like Riku?"

"Of course I like him, he's my best friend." _Including Knoa._ Sora finished mentally.

Pleased with the answer, the woman said, "Good. So then if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost-or say, he start's wandering down a dark path alone, you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. That's your job, Sora."

Riku and Sora shared a confused look with one another.

"And I'm counting on you to do it, okay?" The woman patted the two boy's on the head.

The three didn't notice Knoa's disappearance from the Paopu tree.

 **KING**

That night on the mainland, Riku and Sora watched the stars. Sora however began to cry, with Riku's advice, he looked inside his heart. Sure enough, there was someone there, asking for help. While Sora dealt with that problem, in another world a different problem was born.

 **KING**

"Are you okay?" A little boy with golden orange eyes and pure silver hair asked the man who laid on the ground. Disregarding the empty armor and sword that lay near the man.

The man groaned in pain as the boy adjusted his head to lay on his lap.

Though the little boy's white lab coat began to wrinkle, he paid no heed to it, "Mister?"

"Who...?" The man managed to groan out.

The boy calmly said, "My name is, Knox, sir. Can you tell me yours?"

"Xe..." The man tried to say, "Xeha...nort..."

"Xehanort?" Knox asked in confirmation. Xehanort slowly nodded.

Laying Xehanort's head gently back onto the ground, Knox got up, "I'm going to get my Master, his name is Ansem the Wise. He can help you." Knox took off running toward the large castle that stood in the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

It only took a month before everyone began to take interest in the art of fighting. Thought the children couldn't use real weapons (Their parents absolutely forbid it), the children created their own makeshift weapons.

Tidus used a long red stick he took from a table.

Wakka used his bumpy ball (He claims it's called a Blitzball).

Selphie used her jump rope.

Sora used a wooden toy pirate sword he used at home.

Riku used the same styled wooden sword as Sora (Except it was longer to Sora's chagrin).

While Knoa, he used thick and long stick which he used as a makeshift boa staff.

Though Riku was the best out of everyone, there was one person he couldn't beat.

Knoa.

Knoa's swings were fast and powerful, Riku couldn't directly touch him in fear of hurting himself,(Seeing that Knoa decided to throw away his dark covering clothes in favor of a plain black shirt and pants with white chines wrapped around his pants. Though a strange printed heart was on the shirt, Knoa refused to explain what it meant though he kept the white scarf.), also every time Riku did manage to land a hit, Know showed no signs of pain.

Which is why Knoa claimed the title 'King of the Island'.

But one day...

 **KING**

Knoa and Riku were in a heated match. With Riku losing badly. The others were at the side, cheering on both Knoa and Riku.

"Giving up?" Knoa asked Riku as he landed on one knee, panting heavily.

Spotting a fallen coconut, Riku grabbed it and threw it at Knoa, "Take this!"

The brown coconut sailed through the air toward a surprised Knoa, remembering his dream he held his hand out. A familiar sensation swept through Knoa's body as a blue flame shot out from Knoa's hand and burned the coconut. The coconut landed in a burning blue flame on the ground.

Knoa looked down at his hand, there wasn't a sign of a burn. "Whoa." he breathed.

"Knoa!" Knoa snapped out of his daze as his eyes landed on Sora. He seemed to lead the group of friends as he ran toward him, "How'd you do that!"

Knoa blinked, he thought that the other's would've been scared. Instead they're...interested?

"Um...I don't know." Knoa lied, his mind bringing up the image of the hat.

"That was awesome, man." Wakka shouted.

"Really cool!" Selphie blushed as she said it.

"Can you teach me?" Tidus asked excitedly.

"That was magic," The group turned to Riku, "Only people from the outside world can perform magic. So this confirms it, you're from the outside world!" Instantly, more questions were thrown.

"What was it like there?"

"How'd you get here?"

"Was your home beautiful?"

"Why'd you leave?"

"Guys..." Knoa said quietly, but the group didn't cease their chatter, "Guys!" He shouted which drew the group's attention. "Even if I'm from the outside world, I don't remember anything."

"Ah" The group whined. Riku seemed the most disheartened about the lack of information concerning the outside worlds.

"Do you ever miss it?" Sora asked, "You know, not having any memories?"

Knoa shrugged, "Why miss something that I never knew?"

A silence hovered over the group until Wakka said, "Welp, this only confirms Knoa's hold over the spot as the strongestm man."

"No way!" Both Sora, Riku, and Tidus shouted, "I'm going to take the spot!"

"Hey Knoa!" Tidus said, "Let's do a three on one with the strongest. You against me, Sora, and Riku. Then we'll see who's the champ. Winner get's some munny and a potion."

Knoa grinned, "You're on."Though he still had a potion left over from the dream, another one and some munny wouldn't be too bad.

 **KING**

Even though it was three against one, what lead to the trio's downfall was the fact that the three's pride's clashed. The three wanted to be leader, but the other's refused unless they were the ones leading. Which ultimately lead to their downfall.

"Aw man," Tidus groaned as he sat on the beach with his head down, "I can't believe we lost."

Thought they lost, the three were true to their word. They each gave 50 munny (Making it 150 munny) and a potion.

It now became an official unspoken rule on the island, whoever could beat a group of three or more or won against Riku (Who was second best to his dismay) or Knoa would win a little bit of munny and one potion.

When night came, the children said a goodbye to Knoa and left the island, Knoa went back to the tree house.

Remembering the events of last month, Knoa looked down at his hand, "Keyblade..." He held his hand out, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

Knoa shook his head, "Bah, I'm crazy!" Instead of sleeping (Which was one thing he couldn't do well with the voices plaguing his dreams), he spend the night practicing his fire spell. Trying to learn how to make it stronger, faster, and bigger.

 **KING**

It's been four months, and much to Riku's dismay, Knoa was still the King of the Island and he learned two new spells. One being Blizzard which shot out ice, and the other being Thunder. Though it wasn't ordinary yellow lightning, no it was purple lightning. Though it was weird, nobody questioned it seeing that Knoa always carried the theme of darkness.

And over the span of four months, Knoa earned a total of 5550 munny, along with 108 potions. The chidlren on the island were losing so much munny so quickly, that they resorted to changing the winning price to 10 munny.

It didn't help when Riku and Sora dragged groups to fight against Knoa.

Knoa, deciding that he didn't want to take anymore of his friend's saving, decreed a new rule. Only one person could challenge him once a week.

Though some didn't like the rule (namely RIku, Sora, and Tidus) they agreed.

During that time (When he wasn't playing) He would train himself to the bone. The other's asked why he was so desperate to train. He never answered, knowing that if he said "Because the voices in my head plague my dreams at night and they always goad me to become stronger." then they would think he's crazy. Speaking of the voices in his head, they've been rather quiet lately. He hadn't had a headache for a while now and Knoa enjoyed the peace and quiet.

However, one day, Knoa was practicing on a lone pumpkin tree. Smacking it with his makeshift boa staff (and making sure to avoid the incoming coconuts).

Deciding to take a break (To the voice's irritation) he took a seat on the Paopu tree when his head began to feel a familiar headache.

 **"This world is too small."**

 **"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?"**

 **"So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?"**

 **"If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"**

 **"I've come to see the door to this world."**

 **"This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed."**

 **"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."**

 **"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."**

Knoa gasped as he was pulled back into consciousness, he grasped the tree for support as the voices in his head slowly subsided.

Although the other lines sounded important, the last two affected him most. In the dream, the mysterious voice said that he was supposed to open the door and lead them to their salvation. Who as them? Why was he chosen out of the many other perfect candidates there could've been?

He knew nothing, so he could only understand nothing.

He _**needed**_ to know.

He _**wanted**_ to know.

He _**needed**_ to know.

He _**wanted** _ to know.

Suddenly, in his hands two objects began to form. In one hand a dark KIeyblade appeared, it was mostly gray with a spiky black guard resembling demonic wings. It had two shafts which conencted to a strange and dangerous looking head that had a strange eye.

In his left hand was a dark brown with brass edges. The guard was an off blue color.

 **...Earthshaker...**

 **...Realm of Light...**

 **...Earthshaker...**

Turning to stare at the dark keyblade in his right hand the voices continued.

 **...No Heart...**

 **...Xehanort...**

 **...No Heart...**

The voices subsided as he stared at the two. For a kid they were pretty big and heavy to hold. Suddenly, Earthshaker disappeared in a burst of light which burned Knoa's hand. No Heart however simply disappeared in cool darkness.

Cradling his burned hand, his mind boggled on what just happened.

 **KING**

From what he inferred from both the voices and the scene involving Riku and the Keyblade is that in order to wield the power, you need to touch an actual Keyblade wielded by another Keyblade wielder. But the strange thing was Knoa couldn't recall ever touching a Keyblade. Much less even getting near two Keyblades.

No matter what resolve he made, it always ended up in a dead end.

He needed answers.

 **KING**

It's been a year since he came to Destiny Islands. He's five (or at least he thinks he is due to the fact he doesn't remember his birth date)his mastery over the simple spells such as Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder made him stronger. He was still working on a new spell called Cure. It was probably the hardest one to master.

Whenever he tried to use the spell, it either backfired and slowed his regeneration process, or it just didn't work at all. But he refused to call it quits just because of one spell.

But today, he hadn't seen anyone come to the Island. He knew he couldn't go the the mainland even though he had a boat due to fear of the adults with pitchforks and torches.

However, the next day the children came back. With an extra person in tow.

"Knoa!" Sora shouted as he waved to Knoa who sat on the Paopu tree.

Knoa, who didn't hear, sat on the tree, looking out into the ocean.

"Come on, Kairi." Sora said to the little auburn girl, "Let's go meet Knoa. He's our best friend."

"And the strongest." Riku added regrettably.

Kairi smiled, "He sounds like a great guy."

 **KING**

Knoa stared down at his left hand, he was able to summon No Heart. But for some reason Earthshaker refused to make another reappearance.

Not that Knoa was complaining, every time he summoned and held the object, it only burned his hand. But still, it was odd.

As he was in deep thought, Knoa clenched his fist tighly.

"Knoa!" He heard behind him. Looking back, he saw Sora, Riku, and a girl standing ont he wooden bridge, walking towards him.

"Knoa, I called you from the dock. Didn't you..." Knoa's hearing slowly faded as his eyes stared holes at the girl walking next to them.

It was the same girl from the glass platform.

 **"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."**

 **"Kairi...Kairi's a Princess?"**

 **"The last Princess of Heart."**

 **"It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me."**

 **"A letter...I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember. I said no matter where he is...I'll find him, one day."**

 **"This time, I'll protect you!"**

"...Is it that hard, Knoa?" Sora's voice snapped Knoa out of the voice's control.

Knoa blinked at Sora, "Uh, no?"

Sora, who was pleased, nodded, "Good."

"Hi, I'm Kairi." Kairi said as she held a hand out, "I just got here yesterday."

Knoa scrambled away from the outstretched hand by climbing further up the Paopu tree. Leaving three confused kids standing there.

"Knoa?" Said Riku.

"Um..." Awkwardly, Knoa scratched the back of his head as he jumped down from the tree, "Sorry, I got some stuff to do." Quickly walking past the trio, Knoa ran back to the tree house.

 **KING**

For the past few days, Knoa began to avoid everyone. Especially Kairi. It hurt to be near them when Kairi's light casted an invisible light shroud over everyone. Knoa had difficulty breathing while standing near another's infected presence. Everyone thought that he was just jealous that they were paying attention to Kairi because she was the new kid.

Many times, the others tried to reconnect with Knoa. Only for him to run and hide who knows where. Kairi felt guilty, thinking that her presence was the reason for Knoa's sudden disappearence from teh group. But the others quickly relieved her fear by pushing positive remarks saying that it wasn't her fault.

Soon, the group's attempts to reconnect with Knoa began to dissipate, until finally they stopped trying completely. Though Sora and Riku (Who were the closest with Knoa) felt both guilty and saddened, Kairi's cheerfulness would always distract them from the pain.

Knoa felt both guilty and saddened. Guilty for running away from his friends. But saddened at the fact his friends simply forgot about him. From the background, he could tell his presence was not missed. They didn't need him, a monster. No, they needed the innocent girl that was filled with so much light it made him nauseous. Soon, that sadness turned to fury.

Knoa was 10 years old now. Through those five years, he trained past his limits. With both the staff and the Keyblade. Learning new techniques along the way along with powerful magic. Though he still had difficulty with Cure, the possibility of it working turned from 32% to 56%...If the situation called it, he would use potions. He still had plenty left over. The new spells he learned was Gravity, and Stop. Knoa had to admit, he had fun training Stop on falling coconuts.

Knoa now stood on the beach, with a black shirt with a gray Heartless symbol stitched on. His baggy gray pants complimented the silver chains wrapped around it like a strange belt. His trusty wooden boa staff was strapped to his back.

He stared out at the sunset. His black hair waving slightly in the wind.

 **"This world...is just too small."**

 **"I heard once, there was a kid who left for good."**

How did he leave? Knoa thought. Did he take a raft? ...No, a raft wouldn't be able to survive the harsh ocean. But I need to find a way to leave. There is nothing else for me here.

The memories of his time with his frien-er, ex-friends began to resurface after the many years of confinement.

Knoa closed his eyes as he began to lock those memories again.

Nothing else...

Suddenly, No Heart appeared in Knoa's right hand. Knoa was surprised when No Heart moved on it's own and pointed itself toward the sky. Knoa's eyes were wide when a burst of darkness erupted from the top. The beam of darkness shot up towards the sky, uncovering a giant Keyhole covered by the clouds.

 **...Space between...**

 **...Seal or open barriers between worlds...**

 **...Keyblade...**

 **...Keyhole...**

 **...Worlds heart...**

 **...Heartless...**

The sound of the door unlocking snapped Knoa out of his stupor. After the darkness vanished from his Keyblade, Knoa sighed as he let the Keyblade fall to his side.

Knoa continued staring up at the sky as the unlocked Keyhold disappeared.

"I can leave, but how do I get out?" Knoa asked himself.

Knoa stared down at his Keyblade.

 **...Keyblade...**

 **...Changeable...**

 **...Armor...**

 **...Glider...**

 **...Will...**

 _Changeable..._ Knoa mused. Holding the Keyblade up, he let his other hand drift over the design.

"Change." He softly ordered to the Keyblade. It didn't do anything. "Change." He ordered more forcefully. Though he felt something stir inside him and the Keyblade, nothing happened. "Change!" The darkness form within himself manifested in his hands and onto the Keyblade, "CHANGE!" With darkness taking control, the Keyblade morphed into a makeshift jetpack with wings instead of engines. But then, the Keyblade's will overpowered his, leaving him off guard. Knoa resisted the urge to scream as his darkness was used to wrap over his body.

Knoa fell to his knees as the darkness was finally released from No Heart's control. Knoa panted as he stared at the Keyblade turned Glider.

If he wasn't careful, his own Keyblade might kill him in his sleep or something.

Looking up at the waves, he could make out a strange armor surrounding his body. (A/N: Think of No Heart's armor except not as big and is a lot less decorative).

"Can I...go to the outside world's now?" As if responding, the eye on No Heart glowed twice. Knoa groaned as he got up, strapping No Heart to his back, he felt No Heart buzz with life as it lifted both him and itself off of the ground.

Not used to the feeling of the empty air, Knoa tipped forward and backward off balance. Before he could regain his stability, No Heart took off. Leaving Knoa screaming at the great speed as No Heart began to enter the space in-between realms.

 **KING**

"Whoa!" As Knoa frantically waved his arms trying to not tip over. No Heart vibrated with annoyance at the constant movements. "How am I-?" That's when Knoa noticed his surroundings. His eyes were wide in awe as he breathed, "Whoa."

All around him were stars, no doubt other planets. The great objects laying in Space were colorful and seemed sponge-like. It was an amazing sight...until...

A bright red shot burst from out of nowhere, though it missed Knoa it still singed a few hairs.

"WHOA!" Knoa screamed. Looking up, he noticed creatures...Creatires that were in space ships...(And he thought hearing voices was weird). Some had the sign of hearts on the surface, but others had a sign he didn't recognize.

. **..Nobodies...**

 **"At time, if someone with a strong heart and will-be they evil or good-becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of it's own."**

 **...Nobodies...**

"Nobodies?" Knoa said out loud. But it was futile when the voices didn't respond. Knoa sighed as the Heartless and Nobodies prepared for another shot. Seeing that he couldn't use No Heart (No Heart was the one flying after all) Knoa held his hands out. Preparing his magic in his hands, he smirked as he yelled, "Come and get me!"

No Heart, who was responding to his mental wish, Knoa flew towards the group.

 **KING**

(" **The power of the mystic.**

 **Drives it's wielder mad with it's power-"** )

Knoa laughed maniacally as he zoomed past ships burning in a dark blue inferno.

( **"A hat of murder and ruin"** )

Knoa first used Stop to halt the movements of an incoming group of Heartless ships. Then, using a combination of Blizzard and Thunder, he destroyed the creatures ruthlessly.

But suddenly, the Heartless and Nobody ships retreated. Feeling disappointed, Knoa pouted.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're running away." Knoa barked out, "We're just getting started!" However it was useless as a new world came into view.

Knoa groaned at the sudden rush of bloodlust leaving his system, it felt weird. Going from a blood needy maniac back to a regular boy.

"Might as well go." With No Heart leading, Knoa began to land in the mysterious world.

 **KING**

It was an interesting world. He landed in a district with many shops. Spotting a sign, he walked closer to read it, "Traverse Town?"

"You!" Turning, Knoa faced a blonde man with a piece of hay sticking out of his mouth. He seemed to be struggling to carry a wooden crate, "Yeah you. You with the stupid face! Come here and help a man out!"

Knoa patted his cheeks as he looked around, he was the only one there besides the man, "I'm not stupid..." Knoa made his way toward the struggling man.

When Knoa made it, the man dropped the crate onto the ground. It landed with a heavy 'crash' sound. Knoa blinked as he stared down at the wooden crate.

"What took you so long?" The man demanded.

"Um...I'm sorry but who are you?" Knoa asked.

"Tch." The man swept a finger under his chin, "Name's Cid. Cid Highwind. I own that-" He sharply gestured backward with his thumb at a shop behind him, "Shop over there."

"Oh." Knoa said, "Well, I'm Knoa. I came from another world."

Cid scoffed, "I can see that." His eyes swept over Knoa's clothes. "Now are you going to help me or what?"

"Sure." Knoa nodded, "What's in that crate anyway?"

Cid sighed, "Just some stuff for the shop. The crate's heavy so we're going to have to work together to-"

"To what?" Knoa asked (Showing he wasn't listening) while carrying one crate with ease.

Cid almost dropped the hay from his mouth, "What the f-"

"You coming?" Knoa asked as he walked up the steps toward the shops.

"W-Wait up! I gotta unlock the door!" Cid yelled as he ran after the kid.

 **KING**

Cid clapped his hands together as Knoa placed the box behind the counter, "Sheesh are you packed with steroids or something? Anyways, good job kid."

Knoa felt a warm feeling arise in his chest at the praise, but his cold darkness quickly waved it off. Distracting himself, he inspected the area around him. It was a nice place, a very homey design. However, his eyes spotted the fireplace...without a fire burning the wood.

Tracing, Knoa's line of sigh Cid explained, "Yeah, 'bout that. I don't know any spells and matches are hard to come by these days."

Knoa walked toward the fireplace, summoning his No Heart (He found it easier to channel magic through the Keyblade rather than his hands) he pointed at the pitiful pieces of wood and let the burning blue flame rocket itself out of the point onto the wood. The shop was now filled with the sound of burning wood.

Knoa looked back at Cid who had his jaw dropped. "That's..."

"This?" Knoa held up No Heart, "It's a Keyblade...Don't you have any of these here?"

Cid shook his head, "No. Keyblade's are a rarity around here, there are barely any Keyblade wielders left in the universe."

Knoa stared down at No Heart, was it really that rare of a gift?

"You know what? I got a job for you." Cid said, an interesting gleam in his eyes, "If you're up for it of course."

Knoa peered at the man, looking for any signs of deception, "What kind of job?"

"You know 'bout the Heartless?"

Knoa nodded.

"Well, they've been swarming the Second and Third Districts lately, the people are having trouble living in this tiny part of town when more and more people keep coming in after their worlds are swallowed by the darkness. So maybe," Cid pointed at Knoa's Keyblade, "If you can clear the area temporarily, some of my buddy's can move in and create a base there. Making it one step closer to clearing this town of those mangy monsters. What'dya say?"

Knoa closed his eyes to think for a moment, before nodding, "Alright, I'll help, but I want a discount on all the stores in the First District."

Cid scoffed, "Trust me kid, if you complete the job a discount is the one of the things you're going to get."

Knoa lightly grinned as he turned to leave, but Cid stopped him, "Wait, you're going to be doing a tough job so here." Cid handed Knoa a chain, "On the house. 'Sides, I can see the chain design going on there." Cid pointed at the chains wrapped around Knoa's pants.

Knoa inspected the chain before tying it around his waist, instantly he felt different. It was a good different.

"It's called a Protect Chain, should help ya with your Defense. Trust me, you're going to need it."

Knoa smiled, "Thanks, Cid."

"Tch. Don't hit me with those sappy eyes." Cid turned to go back to the counter, "Now scram!"

Knoa grinned as he left the shop, deciding he liked the man and his attitude.

 **KING**

As soon as Knoa walked through the door leading to the Second District he was greeted by the sight of Heartless. Summoning No Heart to his side he prepared for a fight. Only to see the all little Pureblood Shadow Heartless disappear at the sight of him. A few of the Emblem left too, but the rest of the Emblem Heartless stared at Knoa with hungry eyes.

 **...Pureblood...Undying Loyalty...**

 **...Emblem...Loyal...**

 **...Betrayers...Kill...**

The voices grew louder and louder until Knoa couldn't take it anymore.

 **...Kill...**

 **...KILL...KILL..**

 **..BETRAYERS...**

Though Knoa struggled with his headache, he managed to dodge the Blizzard spell sent by a Blue Rhapsody.

No Heart, responding to the voices wishes, lashed out while dragging Knoa with it.

"W-Wait wait!" Knoa tried to reason with the Keyblade, but it didn't listen as it slaughtered through the rest of the Emblem. When the Emblem were gone, both his headache and the rash movements of No Heart halted.

Knoa glared down at No Heart, "I'm warning you, do that again and I'll put through a chipper. Understood?"

No Heart only buzzed in his hands.

Knoa groaned as his hand cushioned the side of his head. "These headaches are getting worse and worse by the day." Then Knoa confusedly glanced at the spot where the Pure and Emblem Heartless disappeared. "Loyal? Disloyal? What the heck..." But Knoa still continued onward with the task assigned to him.

 **KING**

As soon as Knoa cleared the hotel rooms, alleys, and streets. And just like last time the Pureblood and a few of the Emblems left him alone. Afterward he headed toward the strange shop that was called Gizmo Shop.

Thinking the Pureblood would leave him alone he walked straight through the crowd of Shadow Heartless.

Big mistake.

As soon as he got close, the Shadows lashed out at him. THough his skin was durable against most things, it wasn't against Heartless. They easily bypassed the defensive and payback factor and cut through his skin with his claws.

Feeling real pain for the first time in years, Knoa screamed as he clutched his bleeding wounds. He glared at the Heartless.

 **...Maleficent...**

 **...Control...**

 **"Imagine with me, the most glorious of futures...Seven of the purest hearts, each overflowing with light. When brought together they grant the power to rule all worlds."**

 **"The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who concquers the darkness, of will the darkness conquer him? Either way, he could be quite useful."**

 **"You dare to challenge me? Pitiful fools!"**

 **"The power of darkness!"**

 **"Do not misunderstand me, I will have my revenge on you."**

 **...Maleficent...**

Knoa blinked, "Maleficent?" He said out loud. But he snapepd out of his stupor when a Shadow tried to jump him. Defending himself with No Heart, Knoa shot a thunder after the Heartless. It disappeared with a heart left behind to fly away. It was a long battle seeing that all the Heartless he cleared out were replaced by new ones.

All of them under Maleficent's control (If the voices told him correctly).

After the Heartless were cleared (using both No Heart and magic), Knoa panted as his regenerative factor slowly healed his aching wounds. Knoa would never forget this sensation...this sensation of pain.

He didn't like that feeling.

Speeding up the healing with a potion, Knoa walked out of the shop.

Great. So for some reason the majority of the Heartless population are on my side for some unknown reason, but the others either want to eat me because they're hungry or because they're following Maleficent's control...Is it too late to go back to the Island? But memories of his home with his ex-friends seeped out of the mental lock he created. Flooding his mind with so many emotions it made him feel soft and weak.

Knoa grunted as he reinforced the lock, this time adding some of his darkness to the mix. Never again. The lock began to finally close, I will never again feel weak.

Knoa slowly breathed out when the job was completed. Shaking off the remnants of emotions, he made his way toward the Third District.

 **KING**

It wasn't that hard getting the door from the Third to the First Distrcit to open. All it needed was a Keyblade to unlock it and an electric boost. Though he questioned the door with a fire symbol, eh didn't open it. After finishing clearing the area, he was going to use the door to go back to the First District when-

"BOOOM!"

Large gray pillars appeared, blocking off all exits from the square.

"What's going on?" he asked himself as he summoned No Heart to his side.

Appearing before him were six Soldier Heartless. But the number was quickly cut in half when three of the six Heartless disappeared at the sight of Knoa.

Deciding to end the battle quickly, Knoa used a combination of Stop and No Heart to get rid of them. But that wasn't the end of it.

Hearing a strange sound, Knoa looked up at the sky. He jumped back as a giant colorful Heartless landed right where he stood.

Deciding not to question where it came from (It was like trying to found out where his items go when they disappear into the 'mysterious storage') Knoa prepared himself for the next battle.

 **KING**

Knoa panted as he fell to the ground tired. Battling a box by himself was difficult, especially when said boss could separate it's arm's legs, and torso from each other. Tired from frighting both the boss and the previous heartless, Knoa fainted in fatigue. The last thing he saw was a giant heart disappearing into the night sky.


	4. Chapter 4

"Cid! What you did was dangerous! What if the boy got hurt!" A strict yet somehow gentle voice broke through the darkness Knoa previously succumbed himself to.

"Aerith, the kid had the key-" The voice he recognized as Cid replied to the woman named 'Aerith'.

Quick to interrupt, Aerith said, "That doesn't mean he should be sent out into that District alone! Let alone facing the Boss."

"That's enough." A man's voice said, thus breaking the argument, "We can discuss this issue later." The shuffling of feet was heard, "Get up, I know you're awake."

Damn it. Knoa silently cursed as he opened his eyes. However his vision was shaky from the prolonged period of sleep.

Knoa's heart skipped several beats when he came face to face with-

"Riku?"

The shaky and blurry vision of Riku stood in front of him, "Riku? Who's that?" The man asked in an interrogative tone that definitely wasn't Riku's.

Knoa rubbed his eyes, when he looked back, Riku disappeared and in his place was a tall man with brown hair and a leather jacket.

"Who's Riku?" The man asked again, this time more sternly.

Knoa shook his head, his head still hurt, "No one."

Though he was displeased with the answered, he didn't say anything. Instead he opted to stare a hold into Knoa's head. Knoa shifted uncomfortably under the man's gaze.

"No need to be rude, Squall!" A playful girl's voice said behind him.

Squall sighed in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's Leon, Yuffie."

"Yeah, yeah." The one name Yuffie dismissed as she came around to meet Knoa. Knoa noticed the girl's appearance. If he we was still dazed, he'd probably confuse the girl for Kairi. Boy that'd be awkward.

"So," Snapping Knoa out of his deep thoughts, he focused on Yuffie who leaned closer to the boy, "You're the Keyblade Master? Wow, didn't know swords chose kids." Yuffie's hand made to touch him. However, knowing what would happen, Knoa immediately backed away from the hand with a panicked expression.

Yuffie blinked in surprise, her hand still hanging in the air, "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you-" She leaned in closer. Before Knoa could jump out the window, a leather hand grabbed Yuffie's shoulder.

"Yuffie, enough." Leon (Or was it Squall?) ordered as he pulled the teenager back.

"Ok ok, I got it!" Yuffie insisted as she twisted out of the man's hold.

Knoa knew that the girl wouldn't hurt him (yet, until it was confirmed) but he could definitely hurt her. The last thing he wanted was to be kicked out of his first world because everyone was afraid of him.

"Everyone," The one wearing pink spoke up, "I think we should introduce ourselves first. After all, Knoa's no doubt scared and confused."

Knoa's eyebrow twitched, he wasn't scared...just defensive.

"Well the kid already knows my name." Said Cid in the background. "Until something in'tresting happens, I'll be checking on how everyone's doing with restoration and all that." Cid left out the door.

Hearing the door click, Knoa blinked, "Restoration?"

"Yup!" Yuffie spoke up, "What you did really helped the people in District One (Including us)! Ever since you came, more than half of the Heartless population disappeared. Adding the fact that you beat the Boss, we were able to retake District Two and-" Suddenly Yuffie blinked then chuckled nervously, "Sorry, forget to tell you, I'm the great ninja Yuffie!"

No doubt seeing Knoa's confused face at the word Ninja, Yuffie disappeared in a pillar of white. Knoa jumped when Yuffie appeared right beside him on top of the bed, with a four stared shuriken in her hand.

"See, ninja!" Yuffie yelled excitedly.

Aerith giggled into her hand while Squall/Leon sighed in mild exasperation.

"Yuffie-" Squall/Leon started to say.

"Got it got it!" Immediately, Yuffie jumped off the bed while easily pocketing her shuriken.

"Excuse her childish demeanor ("HEY!")," Squall/Leon said, "Thank you, Knoa, for what you've done for this town. I'm Leon, you could say I'm the security guy in this world."

Yuffie pouted, "Squall! No need to be so uptight!" Yuffie elbowed Leon's side (only increasing his irritation levels). Yuffie turned to Knoa (who was slowly sinking out of his defensive position) "Don't worry, Squall doesn't always got a pole up his spine. Oh, make sure to call him Squall, or Leon, whichever one's your pick."

"I prefer Leon." Leon said, shooting a glare at Yuffie who remained unaffected and still her happy cheery self.

"So," Knoa's voice brought back the attention of the trio, "What is this world? I saw the sign calling it, Traverse Town."

"I believe I can answer that." Said Aerith before Leon or Yuffie could answer. Drawing up a chair, Aerith sat down in front of Knoa, "Knoa, you know how their are many other worlds out there, right?"

Knoa nodded.

"The truth is Knoa, the idea of their being other worlds was supposed to be a secret." Aerith revealed, "They've never been connected. But for you to come into this world, means that the worlds have been connected."

"Secret?" Knoa said out loud, "Why would they be a secret?" He made himself comfortable at the edge of the bed. This time he was getting real answers instead of the devoid answers the voices in his head supplied.

"The balance of separation." Leon answered, "Normally, outsiders aren't supposed to meddle with the outside world. To prevent chaos between worlds with this new found knowledge. Which is why there were barriers placed around the worlds. Locking them from outside interference. They don't know what happens outside, which they're fine with. The less knowledge the better."

 **"As the key bearer, you must already know one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds."**

Thankfully it was short and only left Knoa with a twitchy eyebrow.

"But ever since the Heartless came," Aerith continued, "The barriers crumbled. Some worlds even fell to the Darkness. Pieces of the broken barriers are formed into what're called Gummi Pieces, items that are used to help you travel from worlds." Aerith looked outside the window, where the street lights shined down onto the streets, "This world is basically pieces of those broken worlds. Those who lost their homes to the Heartless, find their way here. Some however..."

An uncomfortable silence hovered above the group. Though Knoa did not see the actual process happen, he could guess what might've happened.

"Say," Yuffie (Being the great girl she was) broke the silence, "Have you ever heard of a guy named Ansem?"

The voices loved to play with him.

 **"It is the fate of a Nobody."**

 **"No...Namine hijacked the data herself. Look what she's done now...she's completely beyond my control!"**

 **"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!"**

 **"Namine, hurry."**

Knoa grunted as his forehead pressed into the palm of his hand. Knoa didn't know why, but hearing the names Roxas and Namine made him...sad, angry, understanding?

"Knoa!" Recognizing the sound of Yuffie voice, he blinked back into reality. "You alright?" Yuffie leaned in to touch him.

Knoa's eyes widened, "Don't-"

Too late.

Yuffie screamed in pain as she cradled her hand close to her.

"Yuffie!" Aerith and Leon worriedly shouted, Leon came forward and tried to draw Yuffie's hand away from her, "Show me your hand!" Leon demanded as he tried to draw Yuffie's hand away from her.

Yuffie however was resisting, "It hurts!"

Being stronger in terms of physical strength, took away Yuffie's hand from the haven of her covering arms.

Aerith gasped at what she saw while Leon's eyes widened in surprise, her hand was covered in bite marks, along with scratches the shape of something you would find from a lion's claw.

Tears rolled down Yuffie's cheek as Aerith moved her hand to heal it, "It hurts!" She cried again.

With Aerith's hands hovering over Yuffie's bleeding ones, a green glow appeared. The injuries began to heal, but Aerith frowned at the slow pace.

"Strange, they should've healed completely." Aerith remarked, taking a roll of bandages from her pocket, she began to gently wrap them around Yuffie's hand. By now, Yuffie was left a sniffling mess.

"What happened?" Leon demanded as he turned toward a pale Knoa, "What did you do?"

"I-I'm so sorry..." Was he stuttering. By Kingdom Hearts, Knoa hadn't been this scared in forever, "I tried to warn her."

"Leon, stop! You're scaring him." Aerith lightly chided him.

Though Leon's glare didn't lessen, he backed off.

"It's alright Squall." Yuffie sniffled, "See," Pulling up a watery smile she said, "I'm fine."

Knoa let his head hang on his shoulders, "I'll leave." Knoa got up to his feet, he knew it. Just like his home, he was going to be ousted. No one would want a monster like him.

"Knoa, don't go." Knoa turned to see Aerith standing behind him, "There's no need to leave. We're not scared, just surprised."

Knoa turned to see Leon looking at him, instead of it being anger it was simple wariness.

"Maybe," Knoa turned back to Aerith, "If you explain it to us. We can help you, and in turn it would help us understand."

Knoa's hand trembled, "U-Understand? Understand what?" Knoa quenched the shaking by clenching his fist, "I'm a monster."

What was left behind was shocked silence. It was the first time the three ever heard of anyone calling themselves a monster.

"Do you have tentacles?" Yuffie suddenly asked.

Knoa blinked, "No."

"Do you eat humans?"

Knoa stuttered, "N-No!"

"Then you're not a monster in my book!" Yuffie said cheekily.

Knoa blinked. Why wasn't he a monster? He hurt her.

"Knoa," Knoa turned back to Aerith, "Though we've only met today, from our conversation and your actions, to us you're not a monster."

"Hn." Leon grunted. That was the closest thing to an agreement Knoa heard in a long time.

Feeling accepted by the group, Knoa felt tears come to his eyes. But he quickly wiped them away.

"Geez, I look pathetic." Knoa muttered as Aerith and Yuffie cooed at Knoa's blatant signs of emotion.

"Tell us," Leon said, "What happened?"

Knoa sighed, he really hoped they shared the same sentiment after they heard his story.

* * *

"I've never heard of dreams able to do that." Leon said, "Fighting off a Heartless and...seeing that white thing."

"A Nobody." Yuffie chimed in.

Leon sighed, "Great, we had Heartless, now we have Nobodies to worry about."

"Knoa," Knoa turned to Aerith who sat on his left on the bed, "These voices, do they sound like different people?"

Knoa blinked, he never realized it before, but the majority of the quotes the voices gave turned into different people's tones, "Now that I think about it, yeah. Some are deep, some are young, some are old."

"Ooh! Maybe you're a Seer of some kind." Yuffie jumped up and down in excitement, "What're the lottery numbers!"

Knoa's eye twitched, "I don't think it works like that."

"Do they just happen at random?" Leon asked.

Being interrogated about his, er, _gift_ caused Knoa to really analyze how far his gift's potential reached. "Well no, the voices usually center around a subject. Like when you talked about Ansem, I heard this deep voice talking."

"Squall, do you think...?" Yuffie turned to Leon.

"Maybe."

"Maybe what?" Knoa asked.

"Knoa, what was the voice talking about?" Pressed Leon.

Namine and Roxas. He wanted to say but he instead covered it with, "Er, Heartless."

Leon bowed his head in deep thought, "The man you heard was no doubt Ansem."

"Who is Ansem?" Knoa questioned.

Aerith chimed in, "Ansem. Back in our world, he was called Ansem the Wise-" Leon scoffed, "He was, you could say, the ruler of our world. He was fair and-"

"Wise?" Knoa grinned in amusement.

Aerith softly giggled, "Yes, wise." But the good mood vanished, "But then one day, he locked himself in his castle along with his apprentices. I believe there were six. Anyways, he rarely visited the town anymore. We didn't know what he was studying."

"Until the day our world disappeared," Said Leon, "We found out that Ansem let out the Heartless like a plague. They consumed our world." Knoa could notice the brief look Leon sent to the back of his jacket, "If it weren't for Cid, we'd be lost to the Darkness."

"Oh," Said Knoa, he felt bad for digging up this sort of information, "What was your world like?"

Aerith smiled in remembrance, "It was beautiful. Everywhere you looked, you could see so many beautiful gardens. The waterfalls only made it better."

"What was it's name?" Knoa asked.

The smile on Aerith's lips slowly faded, "I...I don't remember. I guess the Darkness took that too." Knoa was glad there and then that he didn't tell the three about his inner darkness. Saying that definitely wouldn't have helped his situation.

"I can't either." Leon said after a moment of contemplation.

Yuffie scrunched her eyebrows as she dug through her mind, finally she sighed in defeat, "Me neither."

Knoa suddenly felt a wave of pain coming (which caused his eye to twitch).

 **"You know, this town had another name once. Radiant Garden."**

Knoa groaned as he massaged his cheek, the twitching was beginning to make his cheek sore.

Taking the look of discomfort, Leon quickly came forward, "Knoa, what did you hear?"

"I heard, Aerith. Saying, Radiant Garden."

As if a switch was being flipped from OFF to ON, the three went into reminiscence.

"That's it!" Yuffie slammed a fist into her open palm, "That was the name!"

"How long it's been..." Aerith murmured as a small tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

"Radiant Garden." Leon repeated in a soft whisper, "Unfortunately, that's not what it's called anymore."

"Huh?" Knoa said in confusion.

"Ever since the witch, Malificent took over, she named it Hollow Bastion." Yuffie said in frustration.

"It's a grave of what it was before." Leon said.

Aerith sighed.

"Unless," Yuffie started, "We retake it!"

"Hm?" Leon, Aerith, and Knoa said.

"Come on!" Yuffie said, "We have the Keyblade on our side. Plus, most of the Heartless disappear when Knoa arrives. Knoa could easily take on Maleficent."

"Me?" Knoa asked bewildered.

"Come on!" Yuffie leaned in, making sure to stay an inch away to prevent any sort of physical contant, "We all saw what you could do! So Pleeeeaaase!"

"Um," Feeling the other's gazes upon him, he said, "I guess. I mean, I was planning on finding Maleficent anyway. You know, about the Heartless and all that." It was true, ever since he heard Maleficent's name from the Gizmo shop, he was determined to stop her if it meant that the Heartless were free from her control...

...

Wait. Why was he protective of the Heartless? They were evil, they stole people's hearts for their own need. So why?

Yuffie squealed, "That's great! We're gonna go home!"

"Not yet." Leon said, "I recommend vising other worlds first before you try to take on Maleficent. Because one, she's not a pushover. Two, her influence no doubt spread to the rest of the worlds. However, she relies heavily on an army to back her up. Cut her from that, and we'll have her in our grasp. Besides, we're not the only unlucky people out there. People will lost their homes and loved ones if we let the Darkness spread."

"You think you can do it?" Aerith asked.

Saving the world while solving his darkness problems? Difficult, but doable. Knoa nodded, "I'll do it."


End file.
